Letters to the Editor

Secret Republican, Medical Marijuana, and Belle Ghoul

I very much appreciated the cover article on the Andantes (“Beauty in the Background,” Feb. 13), written by Jim McFarlin; it’s a real keeper. I am also enthused by the information, given, in Jeff Milo’s article “The Producers,” that Belle Ghoul will be releasing more music this summer. Their first single, “(Out of) the Neighborhood,” is the best that I’ve heard in a long, long time. (Aside to Mr. Milo: I think Belle & Sebastian are a more likely influence on the group than Morrissey.)

However, I did not appreciate Jack Lessenberry’s column (“Time to support Snyder”) about the governor’s attempts to expand Medicaid in the state. It pisses me off that he gives full credit to the abominable Rick Snyder for something that Obamacare made possible in the first place. Furthermore, there is no mention in his piece about the online petitions to get Mr. Snyder to do the right thing. Suffice to say that Jennifer Granholm would never have had to have any public pressure put on her to expand Medicare. I’m becoming more and more convinced, with every op-ed piece that he writes, that he’s a secret Republican. —Don Handy, Mount Clemens

POST MORTEM

Larry Gabriel’s “Higher Ground” column about the Michigan Supreme Court decision that could lead to the shuttering of the state’s medical marijuana dispensaries generated a number of online responses. Johan Zartharnicy wrote:

This is unbelievable. I voted for Medical Marijuana in 2008, and now, having come down with many painful physical ailments in the last three years, I have decided to apply for a state card to hopefully find something that will work better for me than all of the poison I am being prescribed. Now this happens just prior to my physician’s appointment. I have all of my pain management and illness documentations prepared, and I will have nowhere to get my medication. WTF?

Which prompted Jules to post:

Hey, man, you honestly don’t wanna be going to dispensaries anyways since they are only going to end up ripping you off. This new ruling isn’t even going to inconvenience you; all you have to do find a good caregiver. I’m sure there are plenty that your physician would know about.

That attack on dispensaries then inspired tj to post:

I own a dispensary and nobody is being ripped off. We buy at a set price and sell at set price, which is a 100 percent markup — which is normal and standard for any retail operation. We also have to pay legal fees and lose our property due to seizures and raids. I have lost $75,000 in seizures and another $50,000 in legal fees. Nobody forces you to buy anything. You choose where to spend your money. But even growers need dispensaries to help supply their patients when the crop gets stolen or goes bad. … Fortune favors the bold. I would rather do business, whatever the kind, than whine like Jules. Get off your ass and do something. Try your own business, then get back to me on price markups.

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